New York rabbi: Why I lied to my mom when she asked if I felt safe

(RNS) — I lied to my mother yesterday. She asked if I felt safe after yet another attack last week on two residents, one of whom was Jewish, in New Yor k  City. I told her yes. I don’t even feel bad about lying. That is what this moment has done to Jews like myself in New York and around the country.

Attacks against Jews are on the rise. Nearly 70% of faith-driven hate crimes in the U.S. are directed against Jews , and we make up only about 2% of the population. About 50% of all hate crimes — faith-driven and otherwise — in NYC this year have targeted Jews, who are only 10% of the city’s overall population. Anyone who thinks there isn’t a problem, frankly, has a problem.

Anyone who thinks that  the 91% of American Jews who feel less safe t han they did 12 months ago are simply out of their minds is grossly insensitive, at best — and complicit in setting the conditions for things to get even worse by accepting or even excusing these circumstances.

My mother’s fear for her kippah-wearing son is neither unfounded nor irrational. So I lied and assured her that I was wearing a cap when out. I do not. I wear my kippah openly as I always have.

I lied because I could…